The Hunt for Cetus
by HerMajesty'sShipHarmony
Summary: When the greek and roman camps receive a prophecy that a giant sea monster will be essential in bringing down Mount Olympus, the hunters, amazons, and Lupa's wolves unite to hunt the beast. Meanwhile a giant demigod/god army sails to Greece, to confront the giants' army. The seven heroes are alone in their quest to find the doors of death and seal them. A sequel to SoN, not MoA.


Anon-Hero-of-Olympus

The Hunt for Cetus

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, etc. etc.

Alright. So everyone has been writing HoO3 Mark of Athena books, and I think the topic is kinda exhausted, and I want to write another Heroes of Olympus Third book, but without all the 'mark of athena' stuff. So ignore everything Ella said in SoN about Mark of Athena. The overall goal is the same and nothing else has changed, except I'm adding an extension to the prophecy of seven.

I will be alternating updates between this and The Son of Metis, a sequel to the HoO series. The two stories will be linked eventually

Chapter 1: I meet the teddy bear's nightmare

ANNABETH

You'd think that after defeating Kronos, becoming Olympian architect, and finally getting Seaweed Brain to confess, I'd never be happier. Gods of Olympus, I was wrong. Seeing him again after eight months of being apart was like our first kiss, but even better. Every turbulence felt like Hera was trying to keep us apart for even longer. And the son of Hephaestus, Valdez, wasn't helping any with his constant talking. When the Argo II finally touched down on New Rome, I wasn't impressed by the demigod society or the order of their legion, or even (Gods forbid) the design of their forts in War Games. I kept my eyes out for the dark hair and sea-green eyes of Percy. And there he was, with a guy who looked like fourteen and a girl who looked younger. I couldn't help but shout out for him, even though I knew it would be lost in the winds

"Lower your pila!" shouted a girl who clearly was the leader of the Romans. I saw Jason flinch and move away from Piper. The two of them have been half-dating for the last eight months, but Jason had always kept his distance, perhaps because of this girl from his past. I was scared of the same thing. What if Percy couldn't remember, or chose not to? Life in this Roman camp looked great and perhaps Percy decided to settle down. I remembered when Percy was offered immortality, and the fear I had of losing him. He had to have remembered me. Tyson got in touch with him, and he said he might have heard Percy say "Tell Annabeth...". Whatever it was, he'd have to tell me vis-a-vis, and hopefully it wouldn't be too late.

It wasn't just me, Leo, Jason and Piper on the warship. All of Camp-Half-Blood had come, minus Argus and the cleaning harpies. Mr D returned to Olympus for war preparations, and even Chiron and Rachel came with us. It might have raised concerns, so many armed demigods, but the Romans were also ready. All it would have taken was one drawn blade and another civil war would start. Thank Goodness, we all kept our composure long enough for Jason to speak.

"Here's when you come in," Connor said to Jason, in what was meant to be a whisper, "try not to get us killed."

"Thanks for the advice, and the confidence booster" Jason said back. Then he brought out a bullhorn that Leo made and projected his voice so that the entire valley could hear him, but it would still be quiet enough to be heard clearly.

"Senatus Populusque Romanus! I am Jason Grace, your lost praetor. I come here with Greek company, but first hear me out before you attack. These Greek demigods come from another camp, on the other side of the U.S, where we believed was cursed. When Juno kidnapped me-"

He paused for a second to let the thunder pass.

"When Juno kidnapped me, she left me for the Greeks to find me. They took me in, treated me like on of their own, and never tried to backstab me. So I plead you, fellow Romans, to treat them the same. I give my word as praetor of Rome that-"

A voice came out from the crowd; "You are no longer praetor, Jason."

"Perhaps you have finally bribed your way to the spot, Octavian," Jason retorted, "but never mind that. I then give my word as the son of Jupiter, and former praetor of Rome, that they will not raise a finger against you, unless first provoked. Senatus Populusque Romanus!"

After Jason finished his speech, many of the Romans, and the entire Fifth cohort, dropped their pila and immediately began to chant his name. Percy joined without hesitation, which I thought was a good thing, because that would be one less thing to worry about.

"Give the ship some landing space!" Reyna shouted half-heartedly. The emotion in her voice was thinly veiled, and I knew she was thinking the same thing as me. Fortunately, I didn't have any competition… or did I? That troubling thought occupied my mind while Leo landed the Argo II.

Even before the two camps had time for formal introductions, the girl in the purple cape threw herself into Jason's arms. Jason looked pleasantly surprised, as he repeatedly told her "I'm alive and well, I'm here with you" while Piper looked absolutely murderous. Several campers and Romans wolf whistled, but the couple didn't seem to mind. I didn't know if it was because Reyna missed him so much, or to establish herself as his girlfriend to any competitors (i.e. Piper). I was considering doing the same to Seaweed Brain, but he came up to me and pulled me into his arms.

I felt his strong arms and his pulsing heart, the smell of the ocean running through him. All the things I loved about him were amplified, except perhaps for his urge to do stupid things. I noticed that he had a purple cape too, but he tucked it into his toga as best as he could.

"I missed you," was the first thing that I whispered. How was it that a child of Athena becomes tongue-tied when she meets her lost boyfriend after he goes MIA for eight months? I decide I'd do some research on that eventually. For that moment, I enjoyed his presence and just relished the feeling of having him again after so long.

That feeling of bliss was cut short by the ever-tactless Valdez boy. He coughed lightly, but obviously enough that we couldn't keep time still for any longer. When we broke apart, none of us looked embarrassed, except for Jason, who stole a glance at Piper.

"So, ah, nice camp, huh?" said Leo.

No one answered.

"Don't like to talk much, do you?" he continued, "I'm Leo, and seeing that I'm the supreme commander of the Argo II, I'll make the introductions. This is Jason, as I'm sure you all know. I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus-"

Several of the Romans looked confused at the name, but the girls on the left nodded, as if they understood. Roman Hunters, possibly? That wouldn't explain their understanding of Greek mytho- Gods, I thought.

"This is Piper, beauty queen, whatever. She's the daughter of Aphrodite, speaks French, charmlanguage, the whole nine yards."

Piper looked at Leo, looking like she wanted to shut his mouth permanently. I half-agreed. Charmlanguage was a powerful weapon that may be used later if the time came. Telling the Romans wouldn't look like an act of honesty, it would give them a reason to blame Camp Half-Blood.

"This is Annabeth, chief architect of Olympus, daughter of Athena."

Olympus? The word echoed around the crowd. Athena was a more recognizable name for the Romans, perhaps because it sounded like Athens.

I was already getting tired of the introductions. I wanted some time alone with Percy to catch up and hear what he had to tell me, but most importantly, just spend time with him. Thankfully, the boy who shouted up at Jason spoke. Somehow I knew that it wouldn't be any better.

"Thanks for telling us and all that, but don't you think that as hosts we should be allowed to make you comfortable first? Or are Greeks unfamiliar with the etiquette of heroes?"

I clenched my free hand. This guy was obviously trouble.

"He's Octavian, the augur of the Roman camp and centurion of the First cohort," Percy said quietly into my ear, "he's a legacy of Apollo and every teddy bear's worst nightmare."

Octavian…centurion…cohort…augur…legacy…teddy bears?

I must've looked confused, but Percy gave me another I'll-explain look. I felt relieved that we could still understand each other so well.

"Octavian, there is no need to make our guests feel uncomfortable," said the purple-cape girl. "we'll finish the introductions in the Mess Principia."

After a long hour of boring introductions – I could hardly remember any of the romans' names (very unlike me) – Percy and I wandered off toward the river, the little Tiber. It was strange how the Romans preserved their traditions. I mean, it's not like we call anything the Acropolis or Sparta. Anyway, we sat down on the banks, where I felt a powerful, and not entirely friendly sensation that was a bit like the ocean. We stared off into the hills in silence, my head on his shoulder and our hands touching.

"What was that you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, that?" Percy turned toward me. "I just wanted to say that I missed you."


End file.
